1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of integrated circuit design, and more particularly to systems and methods for wire routing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Physical design is a basic step in the creation of integrated circuits. During physical design, schematic representations of a circuit's various components (e.g., transistors, logic gates, logic cells, macros, etc.) are converted into geometric shapes that will later allow manufacturing of the circuit. During this process, once the various geometric shapes are placed on specific locations in the circuit, a “wire routing” technique is used to connect components to each other in a manner that ensures the proper functioning of the circuit.
Due to the high levels of integration and miniaturization present in the modern electronic chip, however, finding suitable ways to connect its various cells or components can be an incredibly complex task. As a result, wire routing operations may require that such cells and components have their physical pins, terminals, connectors, or ports (which would otherwise be relatively small in size) designed as larger or “expanded” “landing pads.” By using wider and/or longer landing pads, a wire router has more flexibility to make the specified connections, which in turn makes complex circuit designs more easily routable and saves computing time.